On my recent visit to Coimbatore, I visited the G D Naidu Musuem. I walked up and down the street a couple of times before I could find out where on earth was this Museum and finally found it.
So who is this Mr.G.D.Naidu? He is Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu. He was born on March 23, 1893 in Kalangal. Yes, its the same Kalangal where I ventured to find about the Blankets. And yeah, there is a house where he lived in Kalangal. Not a house, a Zamin Palace!!!
So then who is he, what is he? In simple words, he's referred to as the Edison of India. He's done great contributions to the fields of Mechanical, Agricultural and Automobile Engineering. He's a inventor, engineer, educationalist, industrialist etc. GD Naidu as a person, was the founder of the GCT (Govt. College of Technology) and UMS Group in Coimbatore.
A section of the museum is dedicated to his life, services, innovations and achievements - His certificates... His awards... His photographs alongside eminent people of his era...
G.D.NAIDU SCIENCE MUSEUM INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION - EARLY COMPUTERS
This Museum here houses some of his inventions and several collection of automobile, electrical and electronic stuff right from his ages to what are those at present.
There was a vintage IBM computer of 1977 make from Italy. Its hard disk is 32MB!!! Nowadays the very basic and cheapest version of micro SD, mini SD or pendrive itself is of atleast 1GB. Here the 'hard drive' was jsut 32 MB. And the RAM was 256KB. When was the last time, we dealt with any drive that's in KB's!!! And the size of this one is 160cmx70cmx121cm!!! Now, we are talking of palm computers. And then comes the best part, its weight - 1000kg!!!!!
Also Read: Other Industrial Design & Innovation museums: ADAM Museum Belgium, Philips Museum Eindhoven
Other historic, early computers here are an Apple Computer Monitor made in California in 1984. Model: G091S; another Apple Computer made in California in 1984. Model: SPS - 4042. A computer made in our own India in 1984 by Hindustan Computer Ltd. Model: Busy Bee. Early Laptops that look humongous. No, I'm not joking. Yeah, seriously... Would you be using lappies if they were like this till date??? This one was made by Compaq Computer Corporation, USA in 1991. Model: 2680 KB.
There are also a few mechanical calulators. Now, our calculators are very much inbuilt into our phones!!!
G.D.NAIDU SCIENCE MUSEUM INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION - BEST PLACE TO VISIT IN COIMBATORE WITH KIDS
There are some great optical illusions put up there. No, this is a part of the museum only to keep up the interest of the kids. This actually has nothing to do with G D Naidu himself.
There was a hollow face of Einstein, I had seen in my school days when a mobile science exhibition came over to my school. Any face when sculpted in convex, the eyes of the face seem to give a movement and seems to keep looking at you as you walk from left to right or viceversa. Just like how the moon keeps moving with you even if you go to the next town!!! Lolz!!!!!
This one here is called a pinpoint impression. Essentially its a metal plank with tiny holes at the bottom. Each of these holes has a long ball pins through them. When you place you palm beneath it and apply pressure onto the pins they get pushed up creating an impression of the palm. Yes, I was a teeny weeny bit worried putting pressure onto the pins with my palm but no worries, I can assure it now!!!
There were several more illusion stuff and some games too. One was to trace a star not seeing your drawing sheet but its mirror image!!! One challenge was to take a small ball to top and bring it again to bottom of a slanted plane. Doesn't sound complicated? But it is. The slanted plank had several holes in it through which the ball could fall and the ball was on a small plank which was had to be operated by 2 strings attached to the 2 sides of it. Now, its complicated, right? That's the museum curator herself achieving the feat!!!
Would you be surprised and would you believe if I say, I saw this thing years ago in my dreams, but not as a electric light but as a flame???!!!!! Yeah, I did. Trust me!!! The moment I saw this one, something that I had dreamt of, but never told anyone, did freak me out. This one is a 1960's make and its a gel based lamp. The gel in this when near the light, gets heated up and gets weightless and moves up. As it moves up, it gets condensed and gains more weight and comes down. And this keeps on repeating!!!
G.D.NAIDU SCIENCE MUSEUM INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION - INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF INDIA
The first ever motor produced in India was by the UMS Group under G D Naidu in 1937. He's done some great great inventions including thin blades, kerosene fans, 5 station radio, low cost 2 seater petrol run car, etc. That is in display here, obviously.
There is an ancient on-demand radio which has slots to put in coins, so can be used on demand - amazing for that era, isn't it!!! He was a genius and a true engineer from his heart's core!!!
Some great stuff here in display include a range of radio from age old times to as it is now... Same gradual advancement is shown with pieces from each upgradation was also in television, gramophone, telephones, razors, typewriters, projectors, tape recorders, iron boxes, food processing equipment, cash registers etc. Most of these samples were innovations of the UMS Group of Companies itself. Its a museum of the company's heritage ever since its inception and the masterpieces and brain-children of G D Naidu, himself!!! An ancient 'disaster warning system' of 1987 make was in display. Also here was the first ever 'Electronic Telephone dialer' made in 1982 in display, before that was the 'finger in ring and rotate' dialer!!! Also there was the first ever 'Electronic Telephine STD Locker' of 1983.
There were a bunch of pens, no, I should rather say, a few hundreds of ballpoint and fountain pens made in the UMS factory. This one is the hand-writing assessment of G D Naidu done with a letter hand written by him. This one is the personal invitation given to G D Naidu to attend the funeral procession of King George V on 28th Jan 1936 in London!
I dunno if you know this already. But I came to know this only after being there. The first ever 'digital' clock was almost like a manual date calendar with a spring action that flips the cards every second!!!
G.D.NAIDU SCIENCE MUSEUM INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION - INDIA's FIRST MOTORCYCLE
This one is the first ever motor cycle by G D Naidu. He saw a motor cycle when he was little kid in his village Kalangal, a remote, small, quaint village, when an English Official Lanka Shyel rode his bike to Kalangal. Ever since he saw that he wanted to innovate his own bike and then, he did!!!
GEDEE CAR MUSEUM - Update 2015
A car museum has been opened in the same premises now that displays vintage cars from around the world. G.D.Naidu's first ever motor cycle of India as well as the transport related other exhibits from here are now in display at Gedee Car Museum.
HOW TO REACH GD NAIDU SCIENCE MUSEUM
On Google Maps: G.D Naidu Museum
Gedee Car Museum Address:
734, Avinashi Road, President Hall, Coimbatore - 641018
Ph: +91 422 2222548
Nearest Busstop: Stanes School.
Located a bit ahead of Stanes school (if the school is to your left), in the opposite side. Its the same buillding that houses Indo-German Goethe Institute and UMS Training Centre. Its adjacent to Dr.Mohan's Diabates Speciality Centre. Its a unique building in its architecture and you cant miss it!!!
Good find bhusha..and those computers would soon be taken up by the Archeological survey.
ReplyDeleteNice discovery ,
ReplyDelete@Niranjan,
ReplyDeleteNot in near future. Things have to be atleast a 100 yrs old for ASI to take over I guess...
@Team G Square,
My Pleasure... :)
Whoaaa......... and the laptop is really funny.. But super interesting ya... :)
ReplyDeleteinteresting and informative post...
ReplyDeletethanks
You need a Fork-Lift truck to carry the laptop around Mitr.
ReplyDelete@Sridharan,
ReplyDeleteIndeed... :)
@Sow & @Roy,
He he he.. It did take me a while and only after looking at the label I made out that its a laptop!!!
@Krishna,
Its my pleasure dear.. :)